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For most working professionals, fitness often takes a backseat because of work timings or the lack of a will to go to the nearby park and in return be chased by dogs. People today are looking for a quick workout regime which helps them stay fit but also doesn’t take up too much of their time. And that’s where quick high intensity workout regimes come into the picture.

In India, the popularity of these high intensity workout regimes like crossfit have seen a surge in their popularity over the last few years. These, while are for shorter duration, they promise to work better than other workout regimes.

Sensing the market opportunity here, given the growing craze in India to stay fit, US-based 9round fitness is looking for franchise opportunities in India.

Entrepreneur India caught up with Martin Hancock, COO, North America of World Franchising Associates, as he spoke about how franchising in the fitness industry in India is a growing business.

What Sets them Apart

One of the leading fitness concepts in the US, 9round ever since its foundation in 2006, quickly gained popularity because of the nature of its workout. Today, they have over 500 units in the US and presence in over 13 countries. “Fitness is an experience and 9round gives you that,” said Hancock.

Another interesting feature of theirs is that it’s a circuit program, which means that you never have to wait for class times. Whenever you walk into a 9round class, you probably have to wait for a maximum of three minutes until you can join in. And by the end, you get a full body workout in 30 minutes.

“The workout appeals to both men and women. In fact, in the US more than half of our customers are women,” said Hancock.

Franchising to Grow

Their growth over the years has been through their franchise model. Considering the workout gained early popularity, in order to grow they started franchising.

“Our journey has been like a rocketship, it’s a very successful business with a fantastic management team,” said Hancock adding that they have a superb system to support their franchises, which is core to their business model.

Stepping into the Indian market has been on their growth graph for some time now. Hancock said that they have been marketing softly here, so far.

Franchising, Hancock believes, in the fitness industry, especially in India, is a growth business. “There are unlimited opportunities here because it’s a low cost yet scalable model. And the best part is that it’s for everybody,” he said.

While they don’t have to tweak their business model for their India expansion, marketing will be a whole different ball game here, for it has to be culturally in line with the Indian aesthetic. He believes that if the franchisor doesn’t make an attempt to understand the culture of the market they are expanding into, it will never work. “You have to come to the country, you have to walk around, look down the streets and see what the competition is. You reach people in different ways in India, we need people with expertise in the same to be our master franchise,” he said.